Rees M, Condit R, Crawley M, Pacala S, Tilman D
Imperial College and NERC Centre for Population Biology, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks SL5 7PY, UK.
Science. 2001 Jul 27;293(5530):650-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1062586.
By integrating a wide range of experimental, comparative, and theoretical approaches, ecologists are starting to gain a detailed understanding of the long-term dynamics of vegetation. We explore how patterns of variation in demographic traits among species have provided insight into the processes that structure plant communities. We find a common set of mechanisms, derived from ecological and evolutionary principles, that underlie the main forces shaping systems as diverse as annual plant communities and tropical forests. Trait variation between species maintains diversity and has important implications for ecosystem processes. Hence, greater understanding of how Earth's vegetation functions will likely require integration of ecosystem science with ideas from plant evolutionary, population, and community ecology.
通过整合广泛的实验、比较和理论方法，生态学家们开始对植被的长期动态有了详细的了解。我们探讨了物种间种群特征的变异模式如何为构建植物群落的过程提供了见解。我们发现了一组源自生态和进化原理的共同机制，这些机制是塑造一年生植物群落和热带森林等多样系统的主要力量的基础。物种间的特征变异维持了多样性，并对生态系统过程具有重要意义。因此，要更深入地了解地球植被的功能，可能需要将生态系统科学与植物进化、种群和群落生态学的理念相结合。
